Citation

Fekete S. Arch. Suicide Res. 2002; 6(4): 351-361.

Affiliation

University of Pecs, Hungary

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, International Academy of Suicide Research, Publisher Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13811110214533

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

On the world wide web, self-help newsgroups of suicidal, depressive and anxious people were investigated in a 3-month period. After analyzing the content of the letters (966 letters collected, 222 analyzed) and comparing the suicide ideator group with all other groups, the author tried to find characteristic differences among them and to understand the underlying psychological mechanisms better. The modified version of the Weintraub technique was used in the content analysis. The negatives and dichotomous structures were found to be the strongest differentiating verbal categories among the groups in both sexes, which may reflect the important role of denial and dichotomous thinking among suicidal people. Helpers have to find new ways to approach this Internet-user high risk population.